10 best Cowboys drafted after 7th round or UDFA signings

There’s always a player or two who slip past the gaze of NFL front offices and leave the draft process without a home. The Dallas Cowboys have been particularly adept at finding talent after seven rounds of action, well, eight when considering the 32 compensatory picks. In this new series, we’ll look at the best draft picks in team history from each “round” of the draft, starting with UDFAs and those taken after the seventh round.

Constant change is especially true for the methods NFL teams have had to take in order to acquire talent. Up until 1976, the draft was a whopping 17 rounds. From that point until 1993, it was eight rounds. 1993 is the year Plan B free agency was abolished and the system we know today was formed. In 1994, the eighth round was eliminated in favor of compensatory picks, a way of rewarding franchises for losing free agents.

So here’s a look at the 10 best players Dallas has acquired after the end of the seventh round.

10 Herb Scott

Not many people mention Scott among Dallas’ best-ever linemen, but that’s a huge mistake. The former 13th-round pick was part of the Dirty Dozen 1975 draft class for the Cowboys. He was so good, he allowed the Cowboys to eventually trade six-time Pro Bowler John Niland. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro.

From Virginia Union, Scott was a member of the championship team of Super Bowl XII and helped pave the way for Tony Dorsett’s illustrious career.

9 Mark Tuinei

19 Nov 1995: Offensive lineman Mark Tuinei of the Dallas Cowboys looks on during a game against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland Stadium in Oakland, California. The Cowboys won the game, 34-21.

Tuinei played for the Cowboys for all 15 years of his career, earning two Pro Bowls along with his three Super Bowl rings. He was undrafted out of the University of Hawaii in 1983, seeing both the worst of the franchise and the pinnacle of its success once Jimmy Johnson took over.

He was a stalwart at left tackle, often fighting through numerous injuries. He was along for most steps of Emmitt Smith’s NFL-record rushing career and protected Troy Aikman’s blind side at left tackle for all three Lombardis in the 1990s.

Tuinei passed in 1999 of a drug overdose, just two years after his playing career came to an end.

8 K Dan Bailey

LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 7: Tight end Jason Witten #82 of the Dallas Cowboys lifts up Dan Bailey #5 after Bailey kicked the game-winning field goal with seconds remaining to defeat the Washington Redskins 19-16 at FedExField on December 7, 2015 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Bailey was an undrafted free agent from 2011 who ended up outlasting four other kickers who were invited to a training camp competition. The kicking situation was miserable before he took over and now he sits third in team history in scoring with 834 points. With 41 more, he’ll be their all-time kicking points leader.

Before a groin injury threw off his 2017 campaign, Bailey was enjoying life as the most accurate kicker in NFL history. Not bad, Split’Em.

7 DT Jethro Pugh

Pugh played 14 season with the Cowboys, from 1965 to 1978. That represents the fifth-longest tenure in team history. Yes, he was an original member of the Doomsday Defense. He played in four Super Bowls for the team, winning the 1972 and 1978 contests before retiring.

He did earn an All-Pro appearance, but nationally he was always overshadowed by his linemates Bob Lilly, Randy White, Ed “Too Tall” Jones and Harvey Martin. A former 11th-round pick out of Elizabeth City State, Pugh passed in 2015, but will always be remembered as a consummate pro and a lifetime member of the Cowboys.

6 Everson Walls

(Photo by Allen Dean Steele/Getty Images)

Undrafted out of the 1981 class, Walls wasted no time establishing himself as the biggest mistake every other team made. He started 12 of the 16 games and led the NFL in interceptions as a rookie, with a whopping 11. He’d lead the league two other seasons.

Standing 6-foot-1 out of Grambling State, Walls would make three Pro Bowls during his career as a Dallas corner. Draft picks have been trying to pay homage to the No. 24 ever since. Walls did end his career playing for two other clubs, including the rival New York Giants as the Jimmy Johnson era took hold in Dallas.

5 Cliff Harris

Harris was the man. Undrafted out of Oachita Baptist, the safety kept Charlie Waters out of the lineup for a couple seasons. In his 10-year career he saw six Pro Bowls, four First-Team All-Pro nods along with one Second-Team.

Harris is a member of the NFL’s Team of the 1970s and a member in the Ring of Honor.

He started 131 games in his career, hauling in 29 interceptions. He’s one of less than 20 players to appear in five different Super Bowls, winning two of them. The top defensive player across Division II, III and NAIA earns the Cliff Harris award.

However, he’s one of the biggest Hall of Fame snubs, as the only first-team defensive member of the All-Decade team not inducted.

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